Does "the construction" maen the whole process of constructing?

Question

I'd appreciate it if someone would answer my question. Thanks in advance.

Concerning the sentence: The construction of a bridge is difficult.

Some people say "the construction" sounds like the whole process of constructing a bridge, but don't say that in the case of "the reading" in the sentence: "The reading of magazines are pleasant",

Is it because the word "construction" is used originally for meaning completing something, but "the reading" isn't used for such an aim? (We very often stop reading.)

Yankee · Accepted Answer

AnonymousThe construction of a bridge is difficult.

Some people say "the construction" sounds like the whole process of constructing a bridge

Yes, in this context it definitely refers to the process of (the activity involved in) constructing a bridge. It suggests a specific complete/whole process -- i.e. the building of a bridge in its entirety, from start to finish. So, yes, as you've already mentioned, if you "construct something", you construct a whole thing. If you wanted to talk about a partial construction, or about only a certain part of a construction, then you would have to mention that specifically.

You cannot "construct/build a bridge" if half of the bridge is omitted.

Anonymous but don't say that in the case of "the reading" in the sentence: "The reading of magazines ~~are~~ is pleasant",

This is a much more general sort of sentence, and and you have to take into consideration (1) what a magazine is and (2) the way people actually read magazines. People do not normally read every single word in any magazine.

"Reading magazines" also refers to a process/activity, but it does not necessarily refer to the process/activity of reading magazines from cover to cover. The idea of "from start to finish" applies only to the parts of magazines you actually read.

Reading material such as a magazine typically consists of many parts and each part can be viewed as a "whole thing" itself. In other words, to understand one article in a magazine, it is not ncessary to read all of the other articles. Magazines typically consist of many different complete articles. People might read some of those in their entirety without necessarily reading the magazine in its entirety.

You can "read a magazine" without reading all of it. Likewise, you can "read a newspaper" without reading all of it. However, I would expect "read a book" to mean "read a book in its entirety". You cannot say that you have "read a particular book" if you only read part of it.

Does "the construction" maen the whole process of constructing?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions